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American Journal of Public Health Research
DOI: 10.12691/ajphr-1-1-3

The Implementation of a Tele-Homecare System with Service Oriented Architecture and HL7 Message Transmission Standard
Ching-Sung Wang

American Journal of Medical and Biological Research
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The Influence of Ethanol on Pyruvate Kinases Activity in Vivo, in Vitro, in Silico
Lelevich Sergey Vladimirovich, Khrustalev Vladislav Victorovich, Barkovsky Eugene Victorovich, Shedogubova Tatyana Aleksandrovna

American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine
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Clinical and Histological Features in Wegener Granulomatosis
Li Cavoli Gioacchino, Passantino Rita, Bono Luisa, Tortorici Calogera, Ferrantelli Angelo, Giammarresi Carlo, Rotolo Ugo

American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
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The Curse of Lymphatic Filariasis: Would the Continual Use of Diethylcarbamazine Eliminate this Scourge in Papua New Guinea?
Anne Lanham, Lillian Mwanri

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Teaching Methods and Assessment

Roman Yavich*, Alexandra Gerkerova

Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, Ariel University, Israel

Abstract: Quality assessment of students’ educational activities – one of the key factors of the educational process – fulfils several functions: states the level of educational achievements; gives information about the quality of knowledge and current educational achievements; enables to estimate the amount of the further work, aimed at filling up the gap in knowledge and improving quality factors.

Keywords: assessment system, assessment for learning, classroom assessment

Received July 13, 2013; Revised July 29, 2013; Accepted August 05, 2013

Citation: Roman Yavich, Alexandra Gerkerova, Teaching Methods and Assessment. American Journal of Educational Research, 1 (7). 260-262. January 2013. doi:10.12691/education-1-7-7

1. Introduction

Nowadays there are a lot of assessment scales: numeric and alphabetical, quantitative (absolute – the symbol corresponds to the mark and relative – comparison of the current student’s knowledge with his knowledge some time ago) [1,2] and ordinal (expert consequent division of the students according to the feature set: rating system (a sequence number is assigned to each student), descriptive system (characteristics, pattern).

Modern assessment system appeared several centuries ago. From of old only punitive measures were taken for poor progress and misbehaviour. Educational tradition by means of corporal punishment traces its roots to Greece. In the V century B.C. there were no schools as such in the Athens. Boys studied poetry, music, arithmetics with the tutor at home. There was a slave present at every lesson, whose duty was to whip a student for every disobedience or disrespect for the teacher. This person was called “pedagogue”. Schools owe to Sparta the appearance of such “educational methods” as discipline with the rod, bringing to the knees upon peas or buckwheat, ferule and so on.

Assignment a grade instead of corporal punishment originated in the Jesuitical schools in 16-17 centuries. All the students were rated – the best, the medium, the worst – and these rates were marked by a figure. Figure of one initially was the best mark. In course of time the medium grade, that the most students referred to, was subdivided into additional rates. This is how the multilevel rating assessment system was formed.

2. Methods

As is well known and proven by many studies [3], assessment as a powerful motivational factor affects not only the cognitive activity, stimulating or slowing it down.

It turns into a personality's characteristic affects his self-esteem, largely determines person's system of social relations. This idea would be more convincing if we look at the history.

System of assessment of students' knowledge and behavior using scores has its origin in Jesuit schools XVI-XVII centuries. All the students were distributed through the ranks that were numbered. Hence originally the value of the one as a score had the highest mark. By the way, this is why a number of Western European countries historically rating scale: A "One" - means a higher success rate achieved, and accordingly "five" - one of the lowest. The transition from one category to the other for students marked the acquisition of a number of benefits and privileges.

The very existence of the scores has a permanent effect on the nature, intensity, direction of student's learning activities in the learning process, causing his state of anxiety. The studies themselves losing their meaning, because this anxiety does not allow to the student to experience the joy of voluntary inclusion in it.

In the history of Russian education the system of verbal assessment is the oldest. It is semantically varied within polar opposites “good – bad”. That was three-rate assessment system. e.g. the rates of Kiev theology school (1737): high grade (very good progress, having the following characteristics: decent, substantial, fair, praisable studies),medium grade (average studies),low grade (poor progress). Gradually the verbal mark became shorter and changed into numeric.

In 1935 the differentiated 5-point assessment system in the form of verbal mark (“unsatisfactory”, “satisfactory”, “good”, “excellent”) was established by the combined resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party. In 1944 a system from 1 to 5 points was added.

In distinction from Russia and Ukraine in Israel there is a 100-grade assessment system both in high and secondary school.

Israel has become a developed country of the Middle East [4,5]. It was achieved due to the high educational level of the population. Education in Israel is a smoothly running system, combining modern and ancient educational traditions. Higher education in Israel plays an important role in scientific and social achievements. When Israel proclaimed independence there were 1600 students in the Jewish university (opened in 1925) and “Teknion” (opened in 1924 in Haifa), now there are 250 000 students, studying in the universities, colleges and programmes of the Open University [6,7,8,9]. All the universities and colleges have wide academic and administrative self sufficiency and are open to those people eager to get higher education and meet definite educational requirements.

Since Ukraine entered the Bologna process the assessment system has been altered. The system of student’s progress assessment has been changing over to the rating one. This system evaluates the level of the necessary skills, the level of educational material mastering, gives opportunity to realize the ideas of cooperative pedagogics, makes it possible for a student to choose variants and forms of subject mastering according to his individual characteristics, enables a teacher to improve his interaction with the students, to learn more about students’ interests and needs.

Here after we give the rating of students’ progress in the subject “Literature of Great Britain and USA (the end of 20 – the beginning of the 21 century)” as an example (Table 1, Table 2).

Table 1. Rating assessment of the student’s progress in the subject “Literature of Great Britain and USA - the end of 20 – the beginning of the 21 century” (SM – substantive module, T – theme)

Table 2. Final assessment of the subject “Literature of Great Britain and USA - the end of 20 – the beginning of the 21 century”

3. The Assessment Criteria

The assessment of students’ progress is carried out according to the assessment criteria, worked out so as a certain level of a student’s progress requires full mastering of all set for the previous levels knowledge, skills and abilities (Table 3).

Table 3. The assessment criteria

4. Conclusion

Having analysed the development of an assessment system in a retrospective view we have come to the conclusion that it is currently changing in accordance with the latest requirements of modern education.

References

[1]   | Domoshnitsky, Alexander, and Roman Yavich. "Internet Mathematical Olympiads." Proceedings of the 10th International Conference Models in Developing Mathematics Education, Dresden, Saxony, Germany. 2009.
[2]   | Starichenko, Boris E., Artem N. Egorov, and Roman Yavich. "Feautures of Application of Classroom Response System at the Lectures in Russia and Israel." International Journal of Higher Education 2.3 (2013): p23.
[3]   | Senko Y., Shkunov V.G. Hermeneutics of teaching experience, Pedagogy., 2012. № 2. p. 21-29.
[4]   | Domoshnitsky, Alexander, and Roman Yavich. "Internet Mathematical Olympiads." Proceedings of the 10th International Conference Models in Developing Mathematics Education, Dresden, Saxony, Germany. 2009.
[5]   | Domoshnitsky Alexander and Roman Yavich, Mathematical Competitions for University Students,Proceedings of the 10th International Conference Models in Developing Mathematics Education, Dresden, Saxony,Germany, 143-145 (2009).
[6]   | Roman Yavich, Social networks and students, Research Journal of Management Sciences, Vol. 2(2), 1-2, February (2013),1-3.
[7]   | A.Domoshnitsky and R.Yavich, Internet Mathematical Olympiad for Students, Mathematics Competitions, Journal of the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Organizers, AMT Publishing, vol. 24, No. 1, 2011, 11-21.
[8]   | A.Domoshnitsky, V.O.Bugaenko and A.Ya.Kanel-Belov, Matematical Internet- Olympiad for Students, Matematicheskoe Prosveshenie, ser. 3, v. 14, 2010 (1-4).
[9]   | Nitza Davidovich, Roman Yavich and Alexander Domoshnitsky, Mathematical Games: International Mathematics Olympiad for Students, Far East Journal of Mathematical Education, 9(2), 133-140 (2012).